Playing with Temptation (32 page)

Authors: Erika Wilde

Tags: #Romance, #Erotica

BOOK: Playing with Temptation

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He stopped in front of Paige, the bright pain in her eyes equivalent to a knife twisting in his heart. He wanted so badly to touch her, to reassure her, but how could he explain something that he didn’t even understand himself?

“Paige…” His voice was like gravel, and he whispered the only thing he could. “I’m so sorry.”

She’d slapped him hard across the cheek, trying so valiantly to keep the tears shimmering in her eyes in check. “You’re a fucking asshole.” Lifting her chin in an attempt to salvage her pride, she turned around and walked away.

Utterly defeated and wracked with guilt, he headed back toward the front door, not sure how he was going to repair the damage he’d done. When he glanced up at Ashley, the smug smile on her face made his gut churn. The goddamn bitch was actually
pleased
that she’d just shattered her sister’s happiness, and he’d had the sickening feeling that he’d fallen into some kind of trap of Ashley’s making.

Even after leaving the house that morning, he’d tried to text and call Paige, until she’d blocked his phone number, making it very clear that they were over. And because he had no excuse for what he’d done, he’d respected her decision. Five days after that, he’d been deployed to Iraq, and he’d spent the next fifteen months immersed in guilt as he replayed that morning over and over in his mind.

He’d probably never know the real truth of how he’d ended up in Ashley’s bed, but he definitely had his suspicions.

“You seem distracted tonight,” the woman sitting on his lap said into Sawyer’s ear, bringing his thoughts back to the present. “What’s going on with you?”

Jenny was someone he occasionally hooked up with at The Players Club. Neither of them were looking for a commitment, so their arrangement worked well. She liked being tied up and restrained and enjoyed a bit of pain with her pleasure, which matched perfectly with Sawyer’s own need to dominate and be in control. That was a part of himself he’d hid from Paige when they’d dated, because he’d wanted to be sure they had a solid relationship, as well as trust between them, before he introduced her to his penchant for ropes and the sting of a crop on her flesh.

It had taken him weeks to coax Paige into being confident about her body and sensuality, to make her believe that she was sexy and desirable exactly the way she was. In fact, that night on her birthday, he’d planned to show her just how good it felt to let him be completely in control of her pleasure… only to have her sister obliterate everything between them.

Still ensnared by Paige’s gaze, he absently replied to Jenny’s question without looking away. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

She trailed her fingers from around his neck and down the front of his shirt. “Maybe I can give you something else to think about,” she murmured huskily, her insinuation clear.

Paige was the first to break eye contact with him, appearing completely unaffected by his presence, which only served to irritate the shit out of him since his insides were tangled up in a knot when he thought about the reasons
she
was here at the club. Dane, a regular at the mansion who enjoyed his encounters with women more on the hard core side of things, walked up to Paige, offered his arm, and escorted her out of the lounge.

Jealousy shot through Sawyer like a hot spear, along with something darker and more possessive he couldn’t subdue, no matter how hard he tried. He still wanted Paige, in every way imaginable, and the thought of another man touching her brought out the beast in him, as well as triggered the need to be the one to master her body and mind.

And that’s when he decided that if any man was going to introduce Paige to any sort of forbidden limits, it was going to be
him
.

Jenny nuzzled her lips against his neck, reminding Sawyer that he still had a very willing female sitting on his lap. One he suddenly had no interest in at all.

He tipped her face up to his and very gently said, “I’m really sorry, Jenny, but there’s something personal I have to take care of tonight.”

Her smile was tinged with disappointment, but he knew she understood. They weren’t exclusive in any way, and there were plenty of other men in the room who’d enjoy what Jenny had to offer. She slid off his lap and looked into his eyes.

“I hope she’s worth it,” she said softly.

Paige was. Always had been, and always would be.

Other Books by Erika Wilde

The Marriage Diaries Series